Lecture on Alfredo Jaar's artistic practice (in English)
Thursday, 21 November at 7:30 PM, Admission from 7 PM (free)
Exhibition through 11 January
The internationally renowned Chilean artist, filmmaker and architect Alfredo Jaar, is considered one of the most uncompromising and important artists of our time. He is represented in the exhibition "Shared Spaces", on view at the Kunsthalle Barmen until 11 January with two neon installations. “Be Afraid Of The Enormity Of The Possible” is illuminated on the façade. The quote by Romanian philosopher Emil Cioran offers a variety of interpretations: as a warning or as a reminder of our responsibility for our actions and inactions. His second piece, which is shown inside the building, "Teach us to Outgrow our Madness" is part of a series Jaar began in 1995, following his trip to Rwanda, where he witnessed the genocide of the Tutsi population. It symbolizes the struggle to transcend the madness of war, violence, and trauma while condemning global power imbalances and the media's overwhelming flood of images. The phrase "teach us to outgrow our madness" originates from W.H. Auden's 1939 poem Commentary. In 1969, Japanese writer Kenzaburo Oe adopted the phrase as the title for his anthology of short stories.
